Location: Celebration Rooms 1-2

God has written a loving call to service on every human heart.  Along with this call come special gifts and talents that when they are identified, affirmed and honed, can transform the parish, the community and the world. How do we as parish leaders connect individuals to their role of passionately and enthusiastically offering their talents in service?  The pillar of service is an opportunity for the parish to put into concrete practice the other three pillars of hospitality, prayer and formation.  In this session, we will discuss some of the “building blocks” a parish might consider in their construction of service as one of the pillars of stewardship.

Leisa Anslinger brings extensive experience in parishes and schools to her ministry as an author, speaker and consultant. She is the Co-Director of Catholic Life and Faith, a center for leadership development to help pastoral leaders engage their people in living faith. Leisa’s newest project, is Grateful Disciples, a guide to stewardship in the parish. She is the author of books and numerous e-Resources for catechesis and stewardship, and is a regular contributor to the International Catholic Stewardship Council’s e-newsletter and Catechetical Leader, the journal of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. Leisa is a frequent presenter at national and diocesan gatherings as well as parish leadership days and parish missions. She is a founding team member of the Catholic Strengths and Engagement Community. Leisa and her husband, Steve, reside in Loveland, Ohio. They are the parents of two young adult children, Mike and Carrie and grandparents of Patrick.

Location: Celebration Rooms 5-6

Through his use of stories and humor, Tom helps encourage and inspire Catholics to feel much more comfortable in sharing their gift of faith with others, as well as offering their gifts of time, talents and treasures with the Church!

Tom Peterson, President and Founder: Catholics Come Home.org and VirtueMedia.org. Following 25 years as an award-winning corporate advertising executive, Tom Peterson’s life would radically change forever, after receiving a transforming Spiritual conversion while on a Catholic men’s retreat.  Soon afterward, he founded VirtueMedia (pro-life) and CatholicsComeHome.org.

In the first six years, Catholics Come Home® has aired Catholic evangelization commercials in 39 archdioceses, dioceses, and nationally, helping lead more than a half million souls home to Jesus and the Catholic Church according to diocesan reports.

In 2011, Catholics Come Home evangomercials TM were the first to air nationally on top TV networks like CBS and NBC, reaching 125 million viewers in every city across the U S.

In January 2014, Catholics Come Home aired an evangomercial in all the major College Football bowl games, featuring legendary coach Lou Holtz, promoting the goal of heaven, and inviting viewers to come home to the Catholic faith.  CCH has aired these ads in college football playoffs for the past three years.

Recently, Tom began to host a new television series, premiering worldwide in prime time on EWTN on Sunday nights.  The show is called Catholics Come Home, and inspires Catholics to share their faith. This TV series is entering its third season.

In the past decade, Tom has presented worldwide at Catholic Conferences including the Vatican, and multiple appearances on Fox News, EWTN and other media venues.  Upon the election of Pope Francis, Tom was selected to offer live commentary on Fox News worldwide

Peterson’s second apostolate, VirtueMedia.org, creates and airs sanctity of life commercials helping as many as 22,000 abortion vulnerable women in a given month, and were the first to air their ads nationally on MTV and BET.

Tom served as Vice Chairman of the Legatus International Board of Governors and is active is his local Atlanta Chapter.  He encourages others to seek God’s plan for their lives, to help change our world for the better.  His new book entitled “Catholics, Come Home” was recently published by Random House, and has currently sold over 20,000 copies, and is available in three languages.

Location: Celebration Rooms 7-8

The Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Award Recipient Priests

Fr.  Charles Mitchell’s

Fr Charlie Mitchell a native of West Virginia and current pastor of St Mary Magdalen Parish in Altamonte Springs FL. Fr Charlie has been the pastor at St Mary Magdalen for the last 21 years. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and St Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore MD. His parish has an 8.6 million dollar budget and hosts over 200 programs and ministries. In 2014, the International Catholic Stewardship Council awarded St. Mary Magdalen the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Parish Stewardship Award.

Fr. Jan Kevin Schmidt’s

Father Jan Kevin Schmidt is a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and currently serves, as of July 1, 2016 in the Chancery role of Executive Director of the Department for Pastoral Life and Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Prior to entering the seminary Fr. Schmidt worked as an executive in the theme park industry in Cincinnati, Ohio, Richmond, Virginia, Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia and consulted on projects in France, South Korea, China and the Middle East.

Ordained by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk in 1990, Fr. Schmidt is a graduate of Archbishop McNicholas High School in Cincinnati and holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati and the Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West.

Fr. Schmidt has served as Chaplain and faculty member at Archbishop McNicholas High School from 1990 until his appointment as Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Cincinnati in 1995.  While assigned to McNicholas Fr. Schmidt was in residence and served as a resident associate at St. Andrew’s Parish in Milford (1990-91) and Our Lord Christ the King Parish (1991-1995). Fr. Schmidt has served several terms on the School Board of McNicholas High School and has just completed his 24^th year as a coach in the school’s soccer program. In addition, he was appointed the first President of Archbishop McNicholas High School in December of 2007 and continues to serve as a Chaplain to the school.

In 2008 as Fr. Schmidt completed his pastorate at Immaculate Heart of Mary the parish received the Archbishop Thomas Murphy Award for the exemplary practice of stewardship in the United States from the International Catholic Stewardship Conference (ICSC) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

In July of 2008 Fr. Schmidt became the Pastor of St. Margaret of York Parish in Loveland, Ohio, completing that assignment in June of 2016. He has also been responsible for shepherding the Archdiocesan One Faith, One Hope, One Love Capital Campaign [Goal of $130M – present total $165M] to a successful completion through the solicitation period in his role as Chair of the Pastor’s Advisory Committee to the Archbishop on all matters concerning the campaign.

Fr. Schmidt is currently a member of the faculty at the Athenaeum of Ohio – Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary of the West and sits on several boards and advisory committees of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  He has presented workshops at the national conventions of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) and the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA), the International Catholic Stewardship Conference (ICSC), LA Congress, Fashion Me a People and has been the Chair for the Convocation of Priests on issues of Parish Administration for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2003.  He frequently presents in-services to pastoral leaders on stewardship, pastoral planning and catechesis.

The Department of Pastoral Life and Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati includes the Offices for: African-American Pastoral Ministries, College and University Campus Ministry, Divine Worship and the Sacraments, Evangelization and Discipleship, Health and Hospital Ministries, Hispanic Pastoral Ministry, Marriage and Family Life, Mission and Pontifical Mission Societies, New Evangelization, Pastoral Ministry to the Incarcerated, Pastoral Vitality and Mission, Respect Life Ministries, Young Adult Evangelization and Discipleship and Youth Evangelization and Discipleship.

Fr.  Patrick Sheedy’s

Fr. Pat Sheedy was ordained a priest in 1965 in County Clare, Ireland.  He has served in the Diocese of Orlando for 46 years, and as Pastor of Blessed Trinity parish in Ocala, Florida, since 1988.  Blessed Trinity has been a total stewardship parish since 1992.  Under Fr. Pat’s leadership and direction the parish has grown spiritually, has experienced an increase in parishioner involvement, maintained perpetual adoration, and has become involved in numerous outreach projects locally, nationally, and internationally.

Blessed Trinity parish has been the recipient of the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy award for outstanding Christian stewardship and has also been recognized for excellence for its parish stewardship video.  Fr. Pat and members of the parish stewardship committee have presented sessions at the ICSC annual conferences in San Francisco and Boston, and have been invited to speak at Diocesan stewardship days in Florida, New York, Texas, California, and Illinois.

In addition, Fr. Pat and members of the Blessed Trinity stewardship committee have developed materials and short presentations for numerous parishes throughout the United States to assist them “Parish to Parish” in the introduction of stewardship as a way of life and also with the follow-up “How To” keep stewardship alive and well in the parish.

Rev. Jeffery A. McGowan’s Biography

I was born and raised in Laurel Springs, New Jersey.  It is a small town and I couldn’t get away with much growing up, because all our parents were friends and the community was strong. (I remember when Sister scolded me in the 5th grade she asked ask what my grandfather would think).  I attended Catholic schools from first grade through college. I was ordained in 1989 and I have pastored at Queen of Peace in Gainesville, Florida for 27 years. In those years we built our permanent church, opened and built our Catholic elementary school, established 85 active ministries and all the while tithed 10% of our income to outside charities (over and above the Cathedrum). And by far what I’ve learned is that the faithful practice we call “Stewardship” is God’s best plan for living positive lives.  Stewardship places gratitude to God first and I’ve never met an unhappy grateful person. It invites fuller participation in the Mission of the Church as God’s gift of life in action. It gives all Catholic parishioners a faith-filled way of impacting our world with the Good News.